Shop Agents

“It gives me a lot more variety to offer my clients,many of who are brides-to-be and their relatives,” she says. In turn,this association works well for brands too,who want to market themselves to people. But it isn’t the high street brands Kapur’s clients want catering from. They are looking at home-grown designer shops,boutiques and brands such as Aza,Ensemble and Fuel,and designers like Tarun Tahiliani and Neeta Lulla. In turn,these clothing connoisseurs are happy to accommodate requests from personal shoppers to sell their wares.

“Upon a tie-up,these boutiques offer the shoppers discounts and commissions on the clothes they buy,” reveals Jignasa Parikh Shingal,owner of the Mumbai-based XY Personal Shoppers which caters to clients looking for bridalwear,corporate attire and designer party wear. “But tying up with international high-street brands doesn’t work because many of them have set policies that take time to go around.”

Privately-owned boutiques and designers are also more involved with their clients on a personal level. So it becomes easier for them to decide how and why to wave a certain amount off the garments sold. “We don’t give discounts or commissions as a policy,” says designer Neeta Lulla,who takes an interest in grooming her clients. “But if they spend a particular amount,then we give them a waiver on the final bill.”

Personal shoppers work with their clients on a one-off basis or more often,on a season-to-season basis,helping them actively by sourcing the latest clothes and trends in the market. This can sometimes average out to 16-20 garments per client. Multiply that by their vast and varied client base,most of who come in through search engines or referrals,and it’s easy to see why they’re in such demand. Falguni Jhaveri,owner of Fuel,a fashion store in Mumbai,states,“Most personal shoppers pick up clothes for multiple clients at one go. So most seasons’ trends are bought out in bulk.” Tying up with them on a discount or commission basis is thus a strategic move on the brand’s part to further their sales.

While this collaboration works well for established brands and designers,new and unknown stores see a lot of value in tying up with a personal shopper as an initial marketing strategy to make their presence felt. “I’m always being approached by newly-opened stores today to bring my clients on a visit,” says Kapur. “They see it as an important means of marketing and PR.”

While this might seem like a great deal for brands and consumers,personal shoppers are conscious of keeping the dealings transparent with their clients. As they work out a basic fee structure that is charged directly to the client,XY Personal Shoppers’ Parikh takes every approach for a tie-up in her stride. “We deal with both high-end clients and those who are on a budget. Since we charge them a management fee,we pass on any discounts we get to them,” she says.